NY, Monroe Co.: False assertion officers “had a warrant” made third party consent to search invalid

Officer’s false assertion they had a warrant for defendant made the third party consent here invalid under the Fourth Amendment as mere submission to a claim of authority. “Moreover, Judy P.’s response — ‘I don’t have a choice’ — empirically demonstrates the compulsory effect of Investigator Ulatowski’s warrant announcement. Those words certainly cannot be construed as demonstrative of a free and unconstrained choice, but rather as acquiescence resulting from the belief that protest to the Investigator’s request would be futile.” The substantial presence of police suddenly appearing at the premises also was a factor in lack of voluntariness on the totality. People v. Perkins, 2017 NY Slip Op 27296, 2017 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3518 (Monroe Co. Aug. 21, 2017).

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